patrick.net

Read the plan here: http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/Documents/Reforming%20America%27s%20Housing%20Finance%20Market.pdf

The president has three plans on the table. Which one is going to fix the mess we're in?

The Obama administration had scarcely released its plan to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before howls of protests arose from members of Congress, consumer advocates, and community bankers, all screaming that this is an about-face from a long-standing policy to promote home ownership in America. But enough already.

With its white paper, which offers three alternatives for tackling the mortgage finance crisis over the next five to seven years, the administration is simply laying out the starting point for a conversation on how to get the mortgage market back under control. The complainers are disregarding a few basic, inescapable facts about the system today: It's broken. The government is the only player in the game. And taxpayers are on the line for a massive bill from this mess of at least $135 billion and growing.
Long an advocate of affordable housing for Americans, the government has increased its role in recent years. Just five years ago government-sponsored entities like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Authority made up about 36% of the nation's mortgage originations. Now that number sits above 90%. That in itself should be enough reason to hear out the administration's plans.

Read the plan here: http://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/Documents/Reforming%20America%27s%20Housing%20Finance%20Market.pdf

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